LOVELOCK - Hot weather set the stage for an evening of runaway victories, sweeps and some hard fought battles at the Lovelock Speedway. And the night ended with the IMCA Modfieds putting on their usual crazy show.

"I think I started sixth, made it up to third on the outside, tried to pass a couple of care but they proceeded to wreck me," Shawn Natenstedt said. "The car was a little snug at the beginning but I knew it would slick up so I was just trying to bide my time. The cautions worked in my favor, I found a groove the care really liked and I have to thank TSM Shocks and Larry Shaw Race Cars as it was a good night."

When the green waved on the IMCA field Jeff Elerick took off from his pole position and led the charge. Two laps later the race came to a sudden halt after three cars tangled between turns 3 and 4.

Travis Petersen got the worst of it and had to quickly pit for a new left read tire while Russ Cazier also headed for the pits. Petersen rejoined the field but at the back of the pack.

After the restart Elerick took off with the pack in hot pursuit. By now Natenstedt was using the outside groove while Jeff Macedo chose the inside and soon took the lead.

There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the pack and a couple of drivers had the officials speak to them about that. Being on the receiving end of some of this left Natenstedt a bit hot under the collar.

The next caution came with 12 to go when Petersen spun again and again had to restart from the back of the pack.

This worked to Natenstedt's advantage as it closed the gap between him and Macedo. And there was a second red flag after another car stalled in Turn 3 and needed to be towed away.

Once the green waved again Natenstedt lost no time using his favorite outside line to sweep past Macedo, who did his best but would have to settle for second at the end.

Early leader Elerick crossed the line third and Petersen, after two charges from the back, finished fourth. The race completed a sweep for Natenstedt, who won his heat and feature races.

Another driver scoring a sweep was 14-year-old Spanish Springs resident and soon-to-be high school freshman Dalton Smith.

After winning his heat he led from flag-to-flag to win the 360-sprint car main. Tony Taylor and Bob Cooney ended up second and third.

"The car was pretty hooked up but the track was still a little bit slick," Smith said. "We just got a new car, it's rocket fast and goes anywhere I want it to go."

Another of the sweepers was Rock Goetz, who won his heat race then scored a flag-to-flag win in the Hobby Stock feature. In fact at the end his lead was almost half a lap long.

After a race long battle, Pete Olsen ended up second when he held off Alec Childs and Billy Church.

"I just kind of drove it easy as you couldn't do anything but stay on the inside," Goetz said. "The outside line was nothing but the whole time I thought someone was behind me."

Other winners were Robby Grace, who swept the Pro Stock heat and main, which ended with him and Adam Walters as the only two cars left on the track.

Shortly after the Pro Stock feature began David Rauscher made a dramatic exit when his motor apparently lost a rod and burst into flame. Fortunately he stopped almost in front of the Lovelock Fire Department engine at the track and made a hasty escape from his car.

The Sport Mods are a relatively new class that uses older IMCA chassis and is a somewhat inexpensive way to get into the modified ranks.

Here again there was a sweep but it wasn't easy for Loren Bianchi. For both races a determined Jenny Greathouse kept him honest as she kept the pressure on for all the laps they raced.

While Bobby Niles won the Dwarf Car heat, Rodney Sweet came out on top when the checkered flag waved on that main event.

The evening's racing began with the Outlaw karts and both Eric Taylor and Zach Cail won their respective heats. The karts run on their own oval carved into the track's infield.

When the Outlaw Kart feature began Shay Smith took off with the pack in hot pursuit. The first caution came when Danneeka Garretson went off the track.

Once racing resumed Smith began to fade back to fourth place where she finished. Up front Cail was on a charge and he sliced his way through the traffic and soon took the lead.

After the second caution ended Garretson got the point with Cail right behind her. They ran in this order until coming upon another kart.

Garretson chose the high line while Cail used the low line and wound up in the lead. From that point he stormed away to claim the victory followed by Garretson.

"Danneeka went on top and I went on the bottom," Garretson, who will be in eighth grade this fall, said. "And I ended up getting it."

•This weekend both Lovelock Speedway and Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon have fireworks on dirt for their fans.

Saturday's action begins at 6 p.m. in Lovelock and the featured event will be a 50-lap race for the Hobby Stocks. After 25-laps they have a mandatory 15-minute pit stop that might include fueling and changing a tire.

Rattlesnake Raceway hosts its traditional 4th of July races with a 6 p.m. start, features all the regular classes and is the site for the town's fireworks show, which sometimes runs as long as 45-minutes.

OTHER RACING NEWS

•Last week at the MRANN race at Honey Lake this reporter was told the young rider taken by helicopter by Reno was Sage Park. The source apparently was in error as her name actually is Sage Parkhurst.

My apologies for this error.

•NASCAR's Las Vegas Trio spent the weekend at Loudon, NH. Kyle Busch came from fourth to win Saturday's Nationwide event and became the driver that's led the most laps in this series that has had many names over the years.

Fellow Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan wound up 10th in Saturday's race.

Kurt Busch appeared he might win Sunday's Sprint Cup event but ended up third at the end while Kyle, who led for a time, wound up 11th.

RESULTS

Lovelock Speedway - June 26

IMCA Modifieds:*

Heat Winners - #1 Russ Cazier, #2 Shawn Natenstedt

Main (25 Laps) - 1. Shawn Natenstedt, 2. Jeffrey Macedo, 3. Jeffrey Elerick Jr., 4. Travis Petersen

Pro Stocks:

Heat Winner - Robby Grace

Main (12 Laps) - 1. Robby Grace, 2. Adam Walters, 3. Scott Deutsch (DNF), 4. David Rauscher (DNF)

Hobby Stocks:

Heat Winner - Rocky Goetz

Main (15 Laps) - 1. Rocky Goetz, 2. Pete Olsen, 3. Alec Childs, 4. Billy Church, 5. Audie Peterson, 6. Laura Richardson

360 Sprints:

Heat Winner - Dalton Smith

Main (15 Laps) - 1. Dalton Smith, 2. Tony Taylor, 3. Bob Cooney, 4. Darrell Gogert, 5. Wayne Walsh (DNF)

Sport Mods:

Heat Winner - Loren Bianchi

Main (12 Laps) - 1. Loren Bianchi, 2. Jenny Greathouse, 3. Gary Powers, 4. Chad Christiansen, 5. John Garretson, Sr. (DNF)

Dwarf Cars:

Heat Winner - Bobby Niles

Main (15 Laps) - 1. Rodney Sweet, 2. Frand Hinds, 3. Bobby Niles, 4. Dominique DeGrazia, 5. Bobby Gibson, 6. John Garretson, Jr.

Outlaw Karts:

Heat Winers - #1 Eric Taylor, #2 Zach Cail

Main (15 Laps) - 1. Zach Cail, 2. Danneeka Garretson, 3. Danner Barrick, 4. Shay Smith, 5. Eric Taylor, 6. Aliyah Garretson, 7. Angelica Lopez, 8. Madison Christiansen

*- Full IMCA results were not available at deadline. They will be posted this week at, www.lovelockspeedway.com